Amie Flowers Carmack

Partner

About

Amie’s practice is focused on workforce law – that is, the body of laws, contracts and policies that regulate relationships between and among workers, owners and businesses; requirements for workers in regulated industries; behavior and safety in the workplace; worker mobility; and, protection of confidential information and trade secrets that workers access, use and create. This area of law practice is commonly known as employment law.

Utilizing more than 24 years of experience in workforce law and litigation, Amie engages closely with her business clients to help them achieve their organizational and professional goals, while mitigating the risk associated with workforce-related strategies and decisions. She helps business leaders assess risk, make decisions and position themselves to prove what they did, in compliance with complex local, state, national and international workforce regulations and case law.

Prior to joining Morningstar, Amie was a partner at K&L Gates and its NC predecessor, Kennedy Covington. She is a passionate double Deacon, with dual degrees from Wake Forest University, and was recently honored by NC Lawyers Weekly as a 2016 “Leader in the Law”.

Amie’s areas of expertise in workforce and employment law include:

Litigation and defense in state and federal courts; local, national and international arbitration venues; and, government agency forums

Compliance with local, state, federal, and international workforce regulations, including ADA, FMLA, Title VII, and more

Professional services, including legal, engineering, accounting, health systems, other service industries

Hospitality, restaurants

Financial services and securities

Education and educational products and services

Performing arts

Real estate development

Advertising and consumer sales

Amie’s wide-ranging experience and practical, proactive and efficient approach are valued by her clients. She is solution-oriented and works hard to help her clients achieve their goals.

Q&A with Amie Flowers Carmack

Why she chose to specialize in the field of workforce law: I have always been fascinated by human dynamics — how people and groups define themselves and relate to each other — and I love problem solving. This translates into counseling, drafting, organization building and dispute resolution in workforce situations. I love taking a difficult situation and helping a client find his or her way to the best available outcome. I love it when my clients say, as one recently did, “Having you alongside me made this bad situation tolerable.”

What she’d be if not a lawyer: A missionary, a retreat leader, a professional coach, a motivational speaker or a theologian.

Favorite place: Home. I love traveling, but I love coming home even more. There is something special about relaxing in your own space, with your own creature comforts, with the ones you love nearby and a dog on your lap.

EDUCATION

ADMISSIONS

United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Supreme Court of the United States

Representative Work in Workforce/Employment Law

Assisted numerous clients in navigating the complex web of local, state, national and international regulations related to employee health, absences and disability accommodations and related performance and productivity issues

Assisted numerous, and exempt or non-exempt from FLSA minimum wage and overtime requirements

Represented local, regional, and nation-wide companies in both prosecution and defense of actions to enforce non-compete agreements, trade secrets and stock restriction agreements with departing employees, in a variety of venues, including state and federal courts in various states, and FINRA Dispute Resolution.

Represented companies in prosecution and defense of claims of corporate raiding of employees and misappropriation of confidential information and trade secrets in federal and state courts, and FINRA arbitration.

Defended national hotel chain in multiple discrimination lawsuits (race, disability, FMLA, retaliation claims) in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

Represented health care technology company in defense of employment discrimination, disability accommodation, noncompete enforcement, and other lawsuits filed in state and federal courts in various states, including North Carolina, Georgia, Delaware, California, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Defended international technology company in wrongful discharge lawsuit brought by former executive, resulting in settlement favorable to the client.

Defended fund manager in investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, resulting in settlement favorable to client.

Represented FINRA member firm in United States Department of Justice investigation of broker for misconduct related to customer accounts.

Defended broker in investigation of misconduct by the North Carolina Department of Insurance.